Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 1
Philippines ABA
By Ma. Teresa Cojuangco
As in the previous years, 2008 was not an easy year for the association. We are continuously faced with obstacles that make it more challenging to continue the work we have started. However, it is through the determination of our officers and the inspiration from our children that the association continues to thrive. The past year was difficult but through the generous support of our consultant Dr Joseph Morrow of the ABC School in Sacramento, CA we were able to invite Dr Linda Copeland to come to the Philippines in 2008. PABA was able to mount a 2 day lecture entitled: Autism, ABA and Evidence-Based Practices: A Developmental Pediatrician's Perspective. Dr Copeland is a Developmental Pediatrician and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Kaiser Developmental Pediatrics at Rancho Cordova, California. Dr Copeland came in August 2008 and generously shared her time and resources to the association through her lectures. She discussed The Evidence on Complementary and Alternative Medical Interventions for Autism. She also talked about differential diagnosis in her lecture The Withdrawn Child: Is it Autism? and a very informative talk on ABA and Evidenced -Based practices. We were also very fortunate to have been able to invite two local speakers to participate in this event. We thank Ms Maria Rosario Joaquin who shared with us The Pyramid Approach to Teaching Children with Autism. Ms Joaquin is Special Education teacher and is the Directress of Shine Intervention Center, a PABA accredited SPED facility and ABA provider. She is also the current Secretary of PABA. We were also very fortunate that Ms Anna Lichaoco agreed to join us in that event. She is also a Special Education teacher and the current Program Director of A Child Can Foundation, also an PABA accredited ABA provider. Ms Lichaoco talked about The BIG PICTURE: Creating a Clear Picture of the Future where she discussed with the audience ways to prepare children with autism and their families for the future.
We had a great turn out for this event where attendees were mostly teachers and parents and based on the feedback we got from the audience we know that they learned a lot from all our speakers. Many continue to request for more lectures of this kind with more focus on ABA training.
For 2009, we look forward to having more lectures and trainings on ABA for our teachers and therapists in the Philippines. We stay committed to making continuing education particularly in the field ABA, acccesible and affordable to all individuals working with children with autism and their families. We also look forward to continuously working with Dr Morrow and the ABC School. It is through their generosity and commitment to ABA that PABA has been able to provide lectures on ABA on a yearly basis since we were organized in 2006. Without their assistance we would not have been able to provide lectures to our members and everyone who has an interest in Behavior Analysis.
We also hope and look forward to accrediting more ABA providers for 2009 to finally achieve our goal to professionalize the practice of ABA in our country.